The Touching Reason This Mom Turns Sonograms Into Art

For expectant parents, there’s nothing like seeing your little one’s first “photo”—and by that, of course, we mean a sonogram, or the image that you get to take home with you after undergoing an ultrasound scan. Being able to connect with that image is often an emotional, beautiful and perhaps even slightly stunning experience. And that’s exactly why Ireland-based artist Laura Steerman is making headlines for her gorgeous, colorful, abstract sonogram art.

The 35-year-old mom of three is an attorney whose passion — and now side hustle — is art. Steerman’s initial inspiration came while she was pregnant with her daughter and experiencing movement scares.

“Each scan showed she was doing just fine despite the lack of kicks, but I felt the black and white blurry images just didn’t do her precious self justice,” Steerman told Babble. “So I took out the paints at my kitchen table at home and got painting. It’s a hobby turned small business as friends requested paintings, they shared photos of them on social media, and it went from there.”

Now, Steerman runs her own business called Quaint Baby and creates art for other parents. Her clients have come from all backgrounds. One mom-to-be came to her unnerved after breathing in fumes from the Brussels Airport Bombing in 2016. She and her L.O. were okay, but Steerman wove that experience — ”the joy of travel, undeterred by fear and hatred in the world,” she shared — into the artwork.

She’s also created paintings for an American Navy Seal dad who was away on duty during his wife’s pregnancy and mothers who have suffered pregnancy loss. The latter motivated her to work with Irish charity Feileacain, which supports parents bereaved before or shortly after birth. Now, a percentage of every piece Steerman sells through Feileacain’s website is donated to the organization.

Both Steerman and her clients find fulfillment in the process and result. It all begins with a copy of the sonogram (she won’t take originals), and then she’ll ask her clients to relay their preferences on colors and style, as well as their personal pregnancy experience. She told Babble that her style will vary based on the baby’s activity in the womb: if they’re kicking a bunch, she uses vibrant, bold colors. For babies who are more chill, she uses pastels and gentle strokes. So cool!

She explained that her clients’ reactions range “from joy, tears and gasps of surprise — in a good way!” And that’s no surprise, given that her art also serves as “storytelling and capturing memories, emotions, personalities, pregnancy, and parenthood in a painting,” she noted.

And because “no two experiences or babies are the same,” the art becomes “something really unique, stylish and a real talking point to proudly hang in your home.”

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Maressa Brown is an editor and writer with more than a decade of experience covering lifestyle, pop culture, and parenting. Her work has appeared in/on a variety of publications including Cosmopolitan.com, Parents.com, Romper, Redbookmag.com, ELLE.com, GoodHousekeeping.com, Bustle, Variety, Women's Health, and Better Homes & Gardens. She loves researching and covering women’s health, beauty/style, relationships, pop culture, and astrology. Follow her on Twitter @MaressaSylvie.